Cats for Adoption: Kittens in Every Color!
Why is it important for shelters to have a foster program to send “hissy kittens” to? Because most of the time those kittens are just frightened, not “feral” or worse yet “unadoptable”, which is pretty much a death sentence in mid-summer kitten season when cage space is at a premium and the sheer number of animals being surrendered far outstrips any number of staff and volunteers in the shelter who can help to calm them down and socialize them.
Above is Lucy. “They were afraid to pick her up at [the shelter] because she was hissing and spitting there. A couple of days after that, a lovable cat. She was just scared there,” said her foster. Now she’s a total love cat, ready for play and affection, but if a foster had not stepped up and volunteered to take her home to unwind and learn to trust again no one would ever know that, or have the chance to adopt her and share all the years of her life with her.
Think of that for a moment: just a few days are the difference between life and death.
Below are sister Maxi and brother Joey. These two were underweight when they arrived at the shelter, at a critical time in their lives for growth and development. A few weeks in foster they have put on weight and are growing like weeds, “crazy and cute.”
These are just a few of the kittens available for adoption, rescued by the volunteers in our rescue group. While some were “hissy” and failed their adoptability test at the shelter, others were caught in neighborhoods from city to suburbs to rural areas. The person fostering these kittens has a little property and a horse barn and she and her husband took over one of the stalls to build a play cage for the kittens—because she has no more room in her house.
These kittens and more will be appearing at local PetSmart stores and are also listed on the Frankie’s Friends Petfinder page. Are you their forever home?
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I’ve lost count of the number of kittens in foster among our volunteers, and August is usually the month with the highest surrender numbers at Pittsburgh shelters. Part of the mission with TNR is to not return the kittens—once we’ve rescued them we socialize them and put them up for adoption through the ARL Foster Finder program or through FosterCat or Frankie’s Friends.
Many rescuers pay out of pocket for veterinary care and food but the costs of raising even the average litter of four healthy kittens is more than many people have, and many rescues have greater needs, like the kittens in this story. If you can help with just one purchase from the kitten wish list on Amazon.com you’d make some kittens and a rescuer very happy.
And if you’d just rather buy a gift card or make a donation, I have a reward for you, below—follow the instructions to make a donation to HCMT or Frankie’s Friends and I’ll send you a gift certificate to my shop.
Now who else is looking for a home? Browse a few more rescued cats and kittens!
All photos courtesy the kittens’ foster homes.
STILL LOOKING FOR HOMES:
One of our rescuers, Tarra, has organized the kittens and cats available through our rescue onto flyers categorized by age. Feel free to download and share any of these and visit the Frankie’s Friends page on Petfinder to see even more.
Click here to find out how you can help homeless cats and get a gift certificate!
Can’t adopt? Foster! Can’t foster? Donate or volunteer.
There are so many ways you can help cats who need homes and care. You may not have room to adopt another cat, but can foster a cat or kitten for a few weeks. If not that, you can volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue, or donate. You do this because you love your cat, and by doing so you help all cats. No matter which of these actions you take, you help to save a life, and make life better for all cats.
- Adopt one of the cats I’ve posted here, or from any shelter or rescue near you, or from Petfinder, to open up a space for another cat to be rescued and fostered.
- Offer to foster cats or kittens for a shelter or rescue near you.
- Volunteer at a shelter or rescue.
- Find a group of volunteers who work with homeless cats and help them with their efforts.
- Donate to a shelter or rescue near you.
If you can foster kittens or adults cats to help prepare them for a forever home, please run to your nearest shelter and find a cat who needs you! Anyone can help with this effort at any level, even if all you do is donate to a shelter or rescue so they can help to pay for the food or medications needed for their foster, or the spay/neuter/veterinary care during a clinic.
Need to know more? Read Fostering for Your Shelter and Fostering Saves Lives
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